In the past the known battery compartment slide components for school buses, trucks, and other vehicles incorporated the use of brackets, slides and rollers as conventionally used in heavy duty drawers. The metallic components of the slides and rollers when repeatedly exposed to moisture, salt or other road chemicals, dust, and/or cold or adverse weather conditions, frequently caused premature fracture and failure of the slides or rollers necessitating replacement.
In the past the known battery compartment slide components for school buses, trucks, and other vehicles were subject to functionality and performance failures which resulted from excessive wear and tear, causing the breakdown of the materials forming the roller slides, rendering the known mechanisms inoperable.
In the past the components of the known battery compartment slide mechanisms were constructed of metal which were subject to corrosion. In addition, friction from vehicle movement on the components of the battery compartment slide mechanisms caused many of the components to fail. In the past the components of the battery compartment slide mechanisms also required ongoing lubrication and maintenance increasing the expense for operation of the vehicle.
Premature failure of the components of the battery compartment slide mechanisms due to corrosion and wear also frequently resulted in the destabilization of the vehicle battery box, rendering the inspection or replacement of one or more batteries extremely difficult. The degradation in the stability of the battery box also permits excessive battery motion, which adversely impacts battery integrity, function and life.
Replacement of a battery slide mechanism for a vehicle results in significant downtime for repair, increasing the maintenance expense for replacement parts, and professional mechanic's services. The risk to the safety of individuals is also increased due to the enhanced likelihood of battery and vehicle failure during personnel transport or other vehicle use.
Further, the known replacement parts for the battery slide mechanism are formed of materials which are similar or identical to the materials known to be used in original manufacture design, which are subject to the same corrosion and functionality failures as identified necessitation ongoing maintenance.
The art referred to and/or described herein is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to is “prior art” with respect to this invention. In addition, this section should not be construed to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinent information as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.56(a) exists.
All U.S. patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72.